Fragments
by The Atomic Cafe
Summary: For Kayla. Gifts were meant to be given, even years later.


_**Fragments**_

_**By Dimgwrthien**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to the Harry Potter series of affiliates. Please do not sue. **_

Remus had only heard the door close and had a short sight of the brown-haired woman waving shyly at him before a voice washed over him.

"Who is that?" Sirius asked, perching himself on the armrest of the couch, trying to get a final look at her. A soft movement of her long trench coat and a twirl of her black heels signaled that she had Apparated away from the street.

"Kayla," Remus answered, taking off his own coat. He saw Sirius' sharp glare. "She's a friend from school. Remember her? Our year, in Ravenclaw? Always stared at the four of us during classes while writing some stuff down?"

Sirius shuddered a bit at the memory. "What's she doing with you?"

"I had met up with her, that's all," Remus told him, sighing. "Nothing else. Don't think I'm that easy to steal away."

Placing a small kiss on the side of Remus' mouth, Sirius made an indistinguishable noise.

Only James, Peter, and Lily seemed to know of their 'fiasco', as James put it. Peter had only snorted and grinned when he heard of what was going on between them while Lily smiled to herself and went off to make some tea. James was the one who stared at Sirius for a few minutes, not blinking or moving, until Peter directed him to a chair.

Both of the twenty-one year olds sprawled over the nearest chair, Sirius lazily flipping a hand through Remus' hair. "It was fun the other night, wasn't it?"

"Of course it was," Remus answered, grinning backwards to Sirius. The night before had been spent with James and Peter added, romping under the crystallized form of a full moon. "I wouldn't run off with a random girl when I have you three."

Sirius gave him a small smile and raised Remus' arm, folding down the sleeve. A white bandage lay on his pale arm, starting to show a touch of blood. A painful reminder of the previous full moon came to mind, and he winced. Sirius managed to grab Remus and pull him to lie on his lap, facing the ceiling.

"What were you doing with her, then? Or, rather, without her?" He pulled the bandage off, and Remus caught sight of a large wound on his arm, starting to scab at the edges. Remus felt used to seeing the abrasions over his skin, and only pulled away to sit up straight.

"I had gone for a walk," he answered. "I met up with her on accident."

"A walk?" Sirius raised an eyebrow. "In this weather? You're going to end up freezing your fingers off!"

"No different from the Aurors stuck on duty in the cold." Remus snorted, a smile creeping onto his face. "I just had some business to finish up with."

Sirius did not question him any more. He did, however, say, "Lily expects us over in a few minutes. I tried to find you before, but you weren't here."

"Sorry," Remus answered, looking a bit guilty. "Why so early?"

"Lily still thinks I lack the ability to watch you myself." Sirius smiled. "She says I need more watching than you, but still."

Remus grinned, staring at Sirius. Certainly, he did need more watching over. Just the day before he had managed to crash on his flying motorcycle. Remus, James, and Peter assured him that he would never hear the end of it.

"Better start going," Sirius told him, glancing at his watch. He grabbed Remus' hand gently, almost dragging him toward the door. "It'll take too long to Floo; we ought to just Apparate."

"Not straight into their house this time," Remus scolded. Sirius took on a sly grin and said nothing before Disapparating into the air. Remus followed after a moment.

Lily opened the door only seconds after they landed. In her arms was Harry, a small, black-haired toddler. Lily's hair seemed a mess and she had to blow it out of her eyes to see them straight.

"Hello, Remus, Sirius!" she chirped joyfully. Harry pulled at her ear and she took on a pained smile. "Sorry, sorry. We weren't expecting Harry to wake up this soon. I hope you two don't mind."

Sirius took Harry from her arms, carrying Harry by under his arms. After bringing the child up to his nose, he passed him on to Remus.

"Hello, Harry," Remus whispered, cradling Harry close. The baby tugged on a lock of his hair, cooing loudly.

Once Lily managed to grab her long, red hair and knot it into a messy bun on her head, she leaned forward and gave both Remus and Sirius quick kisses on the cheek.

"James and Peter are eating by now, I think." She took Harry from Remus' arms and grinned. "Don't expect there to be anything else left."

"Lily, you're doing too much," Remus told her. "Cooking constantly and raising a child…."

"And a husband," she added. With her chin, she nodded toward the kitchen. "They should be in there. I just want to put Harry back in his pen." She gave them another small smile and walked off down the hall.

When the two found James and Peter, they sat at a table littered with food scraps. James paused and made a quick wave toward the two. Peter took only a short pause before loading up the two empty plates for them.

"'Owr 'oo 'oo?" James asked through a mouthful.

"We're fine," Sirius answered, leaning back in his chair and starting to eat. He caught up to James within moments.

Lily finally returned, sticking a shampoo bottle on the kitchen counter and sighing. "Harry fought the entire way in," she told them. The bottle, with a animated dragon topper, bit her and she pulled away. "Also, James, I noticed that you didn't come home for a while last night. It couldn't have been because of work, because I asked Mary Anne." She raised her eyebrows as she sat.

Remus, Sirius, and Peter all shifted uncomfortably. All of them knew where James had been, but none wanted to see the wrath of Lily placed upon James.

James took the opportunity to stuff his mouth so full that he could barely close it, much less speak.

"It - it was my fault," Remus explained, seeing James give out a food-filled sigh when he spoke. Never, in the ten years he knew her, had he mentioned being a werewolf.

He took a few minutes to explain it to Lily, keeping out as many details as possible, including the others being Animagi. They quickly filled in that detail, making Lily's eyebrows raise. They thought she would scold them, but she merely murmured, "Impressive."

What seemed impressive to Remus was that she did not act any differently toward him.

After they ate, the four boys sprawled out on the chairs in front of the warm fire as Lily fetched Harry and fed him a bit of baby food. By the time she finished, her arms were coated in a fine layer of spit that she charmed off, frowning.

Sirius leaned into Remus' neck, giving him a soft kiss at some point. Remus just made a soft noise and smiled. He could almost see Peter squirm the slightest bit, still wary about the relationship.

The night passed quickly, and Remus and Sirius soon said their goodbyes to everyone before leaving.

The morning passed quickly, too, falling upon Remus earlier than usual. The cool, November air hit him as he sat up in the bed. Sirius was not next to him, however.

Cursing silently once the freezing ground met his feet, Remus walked around their shared house once, then again, looking for Sirius. It would make sense that he had gone out in the morning to do something, but usually there was a note somewhere.

Remus found the note, however. It was poorly tacked onto the counter with a scrap of spell-o-tape. It was already peeling, though it could not be more than an hour old.

_Am out. Stay where you are._

Not even a quick name on there. Remus threw Sirius' note to the side, wondering what could have taken him away so soon. He grabbed a small, wrapped box that he had placed in a drawer that only he ever looked in and clutched it in his hand. He had spent so long the previous day trying to find the perfect gift for Sirius, and finally, when he was ready to give it to him, Sirius was gone….

The news of what happened arrived in the form of a newspaper carried by the owl.

He looked once at the picture, seeing the black and white mark over a familiar house, shimmering like stars.

He threw the gift at the wall, seeing it shatter into a hundred unidentifiable fragments on the ground. He did not realize that, in twelve years time, he would wish he had still held it and passed it on.

_God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" _

_-William A. Ward  
_


End file.
